Autumn Leaves
by AinsleyAisling
Summary: Lorelai and Rory through the years. Lorelai struggles with learning how to raise her daughter, and the two develop the special bond we see on the show. Mostly cuteness, but also a little bit of how people see Lorelai as a young mom. More coming soon.


All the usual disclaimers apply. I'm just a fan, having fun for free.  
  
The first thing that occurred to her upon entering the room was, 'wow - these women are old.' Not that they were elderly, exactly - but they were all at least thirty, which was old enough. Several of them were wearing business suits, which didn't look all that conducive to crawling around on the floor or whatever they were supposed to be doing. She counted at least two women who had dressed themselves and their children in matching sweatsuits. No fewer than eight briefcases leaned against the far wall.  
  
Before she could turn and run, a woman in a bright pink sweatshirt came over to her with a clipboard. "Are you Nancy's daughter, dear?" she asked in a tone that was much more chipper than necessary. "She's right over there talking to Juanita . . ." The woman, who was obviously New England born and bred, gave "Juanita" an over-exaggerated Spanish pronunciation.  
  
"No," she replied quickly, shifting the bundle that she held protectively under one flap of her coat. "I'm Lorelai. Lorelai Gilmore."  
  
"Oh . . . is that . . . are you Christina's daughter?" The woman scanned the clipboard in deep confusion. "I don't think we have . . ."  
  
"I'm Emily's daughter," Lorelai supplied helpfully. "Emily Gilmore. She called . . ."  
  
Now the woman's eyes roved across the room of women and babies. "Do we have an Emily . . . ?"  
  
"No," Lorelai interrupted, a tiny bit of impatience finally showing in her voice. "My mother called last week to sign me up. I'm new. Lorelai Gilmore." She shrugged out of her coat, revealing the baby sling across her chest. "This is Rory."  
  
"Oh," the pink woman said, clearly taken aback. "I thought you were here looking for your mother."  
  
"If I were, I would probably know what she looked like," Lorelai pointed out.  
  
"Yes," the woman said vaguely. "I remember your mother now. She said the baby's name was Lorelai."  
  
"It is. Rory for short."  
  
"All right." The chipper smile reappeared on the woman's face as though turned on by a switch. "Well. Lorelai. Welcome to Mommy and Me."  
  
"Thanks." Lorelai was not entirely successful in keeping the irony out of her voice.  
  
The woman turned away without introducing herself, clapped her hands gently a few times, and announced, "All right, everyone, let's settle on the mats."  
  
With a shrug, Lorelai dropped her jacket on the side of the room, kicked off her shoes, and carefully lifted Rory out of the sling. When she carried the baby onto the blue mats, the women on either side of her turned to look - one of them stared openly at Lorelai, while the other made faces and wiggled her fingers at Rory. "And what's your name, precious?" she cooed as the other women settled down into their spots.  
  
"It's Rory," Lorelai said, trying to be friendly.  
  
"Rory? How cute. Oh my, and I thought he looked like a little girl."  
  
"She is," Lorelai explained.  
  
"Oh, and how adorable she is!" The woman grinned down at her own baby, a very chubby little boy in a sweater with airplanes on it. "This is Bradley."  
  
"Well, hey there Bradley," Lorelai said with a smile. "How old is he?"  
  
"Eight months," the woman replied. "How old is Rory?"  
  
"Just three months," Lorelai replied. "My, um - my mother heard about these Mommy and Me classes, and she heard it was important to start early, so - here we are."  
  
"Oh, it is important. Bradley and I have been coming since the third month, too." The woman extracted her right hand from her son and held it out. "I'm Ellen."  
  
"Lorelai."  
  
Ellen glanced around behind her, but the class had not been called to order yet. "So - your mother is . . . involved, with Rory?" she asked tactfully.  
  
"We live with her - and my dad, I mean," Lorelai said. "Actually, I'm surprised she didn't want to come. Actually, I'm surprised she didn't send a nanny."  
  
"Oh, does Rory have a nanny?"  
  
"Not yet," Lorelai mumbled. "I think I'm the nanny."  
  
By the end of the class, Lorelai had decided two things. One was that not all women in business suits were as bad as they looked - Ellen was quite nice, even if she did seem to overfeed her son. The other was that she and Rory did not need Mommy and Me.  
  
The first words Emily uttered when they came in the door were, "Well - how was it?"  
  
Lorelai pretended to think. "Well - a woman named Betsy gave me a nice list of preschools - or rather, preschool waiting lists. And someone named Charlotte wanted to set up a play date with her son. Actually, I think Rory might be engaged."  
  
"A play date?" was what Emily chose to focus on. "For a three-month-old?"  
  
"I know, I know. I told her, Rory's not allowed to play date until she can sit up by herself. But that kid was a fast mover."  
  
"Did you try out your stunning wit on the other mothers?" Emily asked, one eyebrow lifting and the slightest emphasis on the word "mothers." Lorelai didn't miss the point - that she had settled herself into a peer group of adults with children now, instead of other teenagers.  
  
"No, I was too busy dancing Swan Lake in the air with Rory's legs," she replied. "I'm serious; her little feet were flying."  
  
"Lorelai, what are you talking about?"  
  
"This class was crazy," she said. "I don't need someone to teach me how to play with my daughter."  
  
"The right kind of activity is essential to Rory's development," Emily insisted.  
  
Lorelai bit back a comment about whether the various nannies had done "the right kind of activities" with her when she was a baby. "This class is for women who don't have time with their kids because they work," she said. "I don't do anything all day except play with Rory. And read to Rory, and watch Sesame Street with Rory, and take Rory for walks - I think she's getting enough stimulation. At this rate she'll still be hyped up when she's sixteen, and that's without Mommy and Me."  
  
"Well, it's your decision, Lorelai," Emily said ominously. "If you think that staying home with you all the time is what's best for Rory, then I can't interfere."  
  
Lorelai watched with raised eyebrow as her mother exited into the dining room. "Well," she whispered to Rory, "no more baby aerobics for us." Rory waved a hand in the air, and Lorelai caught it as she carried the baby upstairs. "I am all you need, right?" she asked. "We'll be okay, just us?" Rory wrinkled up her nose and tried to bop her mother on the chin, and Lorelai sighed. "Funny girl." 


End file.
